Uranium glassware – at first sight inconspicuous glass with a yellowish or greenish tint. But under UV light it can surprise you with its phosphorescent show (to which it can be thankful to a small uranium extract).
Uranium glassware is not an achievement of modern times. On the contrary, but nowadays uranium has become a strategic raw material. It was produced already in the first half of the 19th century and the Czechs played an important role in its production.
What is uranium glassware? And is it even safe?
Uranium glassware is obtained by adding uranium oxide to glass. And thanks to this admixture, it then phosphoresces under UV light, as you can see in the photo. No wonder that this effect caught the attention of the aristocracy, and the glass became popular and highly desirable.
However, nothing exotic will last very long if the cost is too high. In 1855 Ing. Patera figured out a way to cheaply extract dye from uraninite (pitchblende) in an industrial way. This allowed uranium glassware to be produced and not end up as a fad of the time.
As a result, uranium glassware became “common” and glassworks could work with it. It is no problem to come across uranium glassware from Moser and other Bohemian glassworks from past.
At the same time, Patera’s discovery also helped the town of Jáchymov, where the first uranium dye factory was established. At that time the town had exhausted its reserves of silver, cobalt and other metals and was gradually depopulating. Thanks to uranium glassware, or rather uranium dye, life returned to the town and the former ore processing factory became a uranium dye factory. And for a time the Czech lands even became the monopoly supplier of uranium dyes.
Coloration and fluorescence
Although uranium glassware can also be blue or pinkish. Most often it is possible to encounter yellow or greenish glass, which at first sight is not very special.
And if you want to get the most fluorescence – choose yellow glass (this is the color of the vase lit in the photo). Besides the fact that yellow glass contains more uranium, the greenish glass may contain copper, which reduces the fluorescence.
If you want to go for the safe bet, it pays to buy glass items from a brick-and-mortar shop. Where you can see the fluorescence right away. (No need to bring anything of your own, any shop will be happy to show you the effect. As well as helping you identify vintage glass – more on that here.)
Uranium glassware and safety
The production of uranium glassware is no longer so common today. However, this is not due to its safety. But because of new trends in art as well as due to the current status of uranium, which has become a strategic raw material.
Of course, uranium glassware products have very little radioactivity. However, its intensity is so low that it does not affect human health. We are routinely exposed to greater influences, whether through metals in the ground or cosmic rays. If you are still concerned, you can place the uranium glassware in a glass cabinet. However, even a few centimetres of air is quite sufficient distance.